Billerica Memorial High School's class of 2018 celebrates commencement at the Tsongas Center

By Rich Hosfordbillerica@wickedlocal.com

Tuesday

Jun 5, 2018 at 11:07 PMJun 6, 2018 at 6:45 AM

Family members, friends and loved ones filled the seats at the Tsongas Center on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus as the Billerica Memorial High School Class of 2018 entered in procession to the traditional tune of "Pomp and Circumstance," played by the BMHS Concert Band and Orchestra, to receive their diplomas during their graduation ceremony.

Dressed in green robes with decorated caps the graduates were greeted by first a color guard dressed in silver dresses waiving green flags and then the applauding, cheering teaching staff of the entire Billerica School Department from elementary school through high school. As they entered, family members called out graduates' names and snapped photos to commemorate the event.

Before the diplomas were handed out and the high school seniors would finally be free of their time in public school, a number of speakers took to the podium to offer remarks of inspiration, insight and encouragement. Throughout the evening there was one message a majority of the speakers were moved to touch upon: These graduates should not only be given advice, those gathered there to honor them should also listen to them.

BMHS Principal Thomas Murphy set the tone by listing a number of accomplishments of the class that demonstrated they were leaders in their school and in the community, including the creation of a unified basketball team to give students with disabilities an opportunity to play alongside their peers in friendly competition. He also mentioned the student-organized walk-out that was held in solidarity with student actions across the country in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting and the student movement that sprang from that tragedy.

Murphy acknowledged by dint of living where they do and with the services at their disposal the students had been given "great gifts" he said it was they who chose to take those gifts and turn them outward to others.

"But the true measure of a people is what you do with these gifts," he said. "As a class you've provided service to your community. You've provided clothing to the homeless, food for the needy and service to the food bank."

Superintendent Timothy Piwowar said he wanted to address his remarks not the graduates but to the adults in the room and any who may hear his words and give them one piece of advice.

"That is not to let these graduates' voices fall on deaf ears," he said. "Because in the words of Henry David Thoreau 'It takes two speak the truth - one to speak and another to hear.' There is no question that there is power in student voice but its power is muted when those who have the ability to make change decide to close themselves off to what is being said solely because their initial instinct is to dismiss the speaker because they are too young or too naive about 'how things really are.'"

Instead, everyone should look to the students they have spent the last 18 years teaching and hear what they now have to say.

"These young men and women before us this evening are a reflection of who we are and most importantly they are a reflection of our hopes and dreams of the future," he said. "So why choose to ignore that and be content with the status quo when they have the potential to make those dreams a reality?"

Among the student speakers Valedictorian Alyssa Eakman spoke most forcefully on the need for graduates to make their voices heard and become leaders in the face of difficult obstacles.

"Our country and our school systems have been though a lot in past years - panic, loss, grief, paranoia, attacks," she said. "These things have tried to weigh us down like mud between our feathers but we will fly. I see the determination shining in the eyes of all those who stand up for what they believe in, no matter their opinion, and know that we will fly. We will soar through the skies because our voices hold power beyond our belief."